Quick Breads - 101

Cold winter days are good days for baking. One of  my favorite things to bake is some sort of quick bread - muffins, banana bread, scones, coffeecakes, etc. Even pancakes or waffles for supper are a warm and tasty choice. Recently Beth, the County Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, and I held a baking class on Quick Breads for 4-Hers. We talked about basics and more, then prepared 3 recipes. With the preps we covered different types of mixing, the functions of ingredients, nutrition, and what the judge might be looking for at the county fair.
The recipes we used were Special Banana Nut Bread (blog of August 4, 2013), Pumpkin Chip muffins (blog of May 20, 2012) and a basic scone recipe from the Home Baking Association (homebaking.org). These scones are easy and tasty, a recipe to enjoy again!
Quick breads are baked immediately after they  mixed since they don't require the extra rising time that yeast breads do. Leavening is accomplished with air, steam, and/or carbon dioxide from baking soda or baking powder.
Both baking soda and baking powder will cause baked products to rise, but they are not the same! The main difference is that baking powder contains an acid and baking soda does not. Baking powder today is usually double acting, meaning that it reacts and rises both with the addition of liquid and again with heat (in baking). Baking soda is often combined with other ingredients that contain an acid such as buttermilk or molasses to react. It reacts with liquid, not heat, and should be placed in the oven immediately after mixing.
You can check the strength of either leavening product easily to ensure the best rising action. Fresh ingredients will give a better product and I usually purchase new leavenings before baking for the fair or Christmas. To test the freshness of what is in your cupboard:
Baking soda: Put 1 tablespoon vinegar (acid) in a small cup. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. There should be a vigorous fizz.
Baking powder: Put 2 tablespoons warm water in a small cup. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. It should bubble and foam, but will not be as vigorous as baking soda.

There are generally 3 methods of mixing quick bread batter. The type of quick bread and the consistency of the batter will determine which method you should use. The biscuit method cuts the fat into the dry ingredients. This is used for biscuits and some scones. The blending method combines the liquids and dry ingredients separately then adds the dry to the liquids. Use this for most muffins and fruit breads. The creaming is similar to cookie dough; solid fat and sugar are creamed together, then eggs are added, followed by wet and dry ingredients alternately. These product are more cake-like.

BASIC SCONES WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS

2 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

⅓ cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ cup cold butter

1cup to 2 cups chopped dried fruit, chocolate or other flavored chips, nuts, or a combination (optional, but good!)

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract or the flavoring of your choice

½ cup to ⅔ cup half and half or milk

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.

Work in the butter just until the mixture is unevenly crumbly; it’s ok for some larger chunks of butter to remain unincorporated.

Stir in the fruit, chips, and/or nuts, if you’re using them.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla or other flavor, and half and half or milk.
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until all is moistened and holds together.

Line a baking sheet with parchment; if you don’t have parchment, just use it without greasing it. Sprinkle a bit of four atop the parchment or pan.

Scrape the dough onto the floured parchment or pan, and divide it in half.

Round each half into a 5-inch circle (if you haven’t incorporated any add-ins); or a 6-inch circle (if you’ve added fruit, nuts, etc.). The circles should be about 3/4–inch thick.

Brush each circle with milk, and sprinkle with coarse white sparkling sugar or cinnamon sugar, if desired.

Using a knife or bench knife that you’ve run under cold water, score each circle into 6 wedges.

For best texture and highest rise, place the pan of scones in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered. While the scones are chilling, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Bake the scones for 20-25 minutes, or until they’re golden brown. When you slice one away from the others, it should look baked all the way through; the edge shouldn’t look wet or unbaked.

A good way to test baked products for doneness is with a food (meat) thermometer. Quick breads should bake to an internal temperature of 210 degrees.

Remove the scones from the oven, and cool briefly on the pan. Serve warm.